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Bloomberg: Apple Working on 'Thinner and Lighter' High-End MacBook Air With MagSafe, Could Launch in Second Half of 2021
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They tried going smaller with the initial 11” ones and that was too small screen, too cramped keyboard.
13” is the correct size. After that it’s just a question of how thin bezels can you have and still a rigid robust screen. The size is fine.
What would be a crime is, having achieved super long battery life with the M1, to pare the form factor down and then reduce battery life, taking you back to to only place the old version was weak.
This new high end MBA feels like it’s going to replace the current entry level MBP.
Once we have the MBP on ‘M1X’ processors (plus the SD card slot & more RAM & SSD capacity etc.) it will be far clearer what use cases each computer/line is meant for.
It’s a little bit of a puzzle right now as to why you’d buy the M1 Pro over the M1 Air at the moment.
You have to research this decision (if you’re price conscious in the $1000-1500 range).
I’d imagine that by 2022 it will be a really obvious decision as to what line and model is for you.
Once we have the MBP on ‘M1X’ processors (plus the SD card slot & more RAM & SSD capacity etc.) it will be far clearer what use cases each computer/line is meant for.
It’s a little bit of a puzzle right now as to why you’d buy the M1 Pro over the M1 Air at the moment.
You have to research this decision (if you’re price conscious in the $1000-1500 range).
I’d imagine that by 2022 it will be a really obvious decision as to what line and model is for you.
Bragging rights, and more frequent upgrade cycle for consumers as the smaller battery would die sooner. Win win. Oh, and they will probably ditch the charger also, because we now know chargers are the enemy of the environment.
/s
But not many desks have electrical outlets in the desk top. Most electrical outlets are close to the floor.
We don’t need thinner MacBook Air. We need battery life and some ports, so you have what you need in a single package. The race to beyond useful thinner helped justify choosing inadequate CPUs in the last few years, so you would be forced to change your laptop when new models would arrive. This is marketing.
Apple is working on a "thinner and lighter" version of the MacBook Air that the company plans to release during the second half of this year at the earliest or in 2022, according to a new report by well-connected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman.
According to the report, the new 13-inch MacBook Air model will also have a pair of USB 4 ports for connecting external devices. The current MacBook Air, upgraded in November with Apple silicon, is expected to remain in the company's lineup as an entry-level offering.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that Apple will introduce a new MacBook Air at some point in 2022, suggesting there may not be a refresh in 2021. According to Kuo, the MacBook Air coming in 2022 will feature a mini-LED display, a prediction also echoed by DigiTimes.
With the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models introduced in October 2020, Apple reinvented "MagSafe," the name once used for the breakaway magnetic charging cables designed for the MacBook. MagSafe was fully phased out of the Mac lineup, and the last machine with MagSafe, the 2017 MacBook Air, was discontinued by Apple in July 2019.
Kuo recently claimed the MagSafe charging connector design will be restored to Apple's MacBooks in future designs, though it was not quite clear what that meant since Apple has transitioned to USB-C. However, Gurman in a separate report clarified that the MagSafe port will be a standalone charging port used instead of USB-C, with the new port located next to the USB-C ports.
Article Link: Bloomberg: Apple Working on 'Thinner and Lighter' High-End MacBook Air With MagSafe, Could Launch in Second Half of 2021
yeah does seem like it. certainly when the current m1 air will be sold along side it. be interesting how much it will be. guessing will be an extra 100 or so.
I don't think they will release another MBA so soon. If I am wrong, it will probably be $1299.00
Have occurred to anyone the fact that today the "MagSafe" name refer to a different technology on iPhones (namely, wireless charging) ?
What if this new Mac Book Air MagSafe actually refer to using the same technology on a very light Mac ? I would make a lot of sense (a lot more that going to a proprietary connector for charging once moved to an open one).
Maurizio
What if this new Mac Book Air MagSafe actually refer to using the same technology on a very light Mac ? I would make a lot of sense (a lot more that going to a proprietary connector for charging once moved to an open one).
Maurizio
MacBooks are metal so there's no good place for wireless charging. The phone MagSafe is proprietary in that only Apple certified devices get the fast charging, which is still half the rate that MacBook Airs need to charge at, whereas non-certified wireless chargers are stuck at an even slower charging rate.
YOU need battery life and ports. I need thinner and lighter. I actually carry my MacBook around with me, and I never plug it into anything but the charger.
Make you upgrade? They aren’t making you do anything. It’s not coming until 2022. They do need to make new products to be a business.This is disgusting. I just bought an M1 and now Apple is going to make me upgrade again in less than a year? Apple should have sent out an email letting prospective buyers know ahead of time.
Now that I think about it, this M1 has been acting sluggish lately. If this M1 can’t handle watching cat videos on YouTube, what good is it?
This M1 isn’t even the pro model. How can I be expected to work on a standard M1? It doesn’t come with a GPU, Face ID, or a case of beer, not to mention the base model should come with no less than 16GB RAM and 512 SSD. I feel like Apple ripped me off. This M1 is worthless now.
Apple has really been letting us down on the hardware lately, especially with the M1. Every time you turn it on and or connect it to an external monitor it dies.
I see this new M Air will be thinner and lighter. The memory of Ives lives on. Apple is showing so much courage with this new Air. There is no innovation with Apple anymore. If Steve was still alive....
I just saw a video on YouTube saying how bad this new upcoming model is not worth it and the new Forbes article agrees.
Where is the best place to sell my M1? It looks like I will be upgrading to the new Air when it is released.
* These typical statements were picked at random from data submitted to Apple. No MacRumors members were outed in this data although the usual suspects are easily identified.
MacRumors has already received complaints about the cat comment and cat owners have vowed to boycott MacRumors.
I am looking forward to the new and improved M MacBook Air.
My post was a bit of comedy reciting the various lines that so many people have said on MacRumors when a release is announced or rumored to release. Seeing how you are a newbie, you were lost with my post.
The brick containing the ports does not have to be near the wall end of the power cord.
While it is good to hear that there might be a faster speed magsafe charger, I hope the USB C ports can continue to be used to charge the MacBook.
I do like the convenience of being able to charge on both sides and also to charge using powerbank on the go. Speed wise, I don’t really need much faster speed given how long the battery can last.
I do like the convenience of being able to charge on both sides and also to charge using powerbank on the go. Speed wise, I don’t really need much faster speed given how long the battery can last.